Team Member Profile

Professional Biography

Melissa Stagman serves as a Senior Tax Advisor as part of the Carlson Capital Management team as well as with CCM Tax & Trust Administration, a commonly-held affiliate of Carlson Capital Management. Melissa works closely with the Advisory Team to deliver clients fully integrated wealth management services, lending her experience to proactive tax-related planning. As a member of the Tax Team, Melissa has responsibility for preparation, review, and completion of individual and trust tax returns and tax projections. She also participates in client meetings and serves as a tax resource for clients, providing service both individually and collaboratively with other advisors, to develop customized recommendations.

Prior to joining CCM, Melissa provided counsel regarding tax and wealth transfer strategies to high net worth families and their professional advisors for 16 years as a tax manager at RSM US. She is collaborative by nature and has experience preparing individual, trust, estate, and gift tax returns.

Melissa is a graduate of the University of Northern Iowa where she received her Bachelor of Arts in accounting. Melissa is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and member of the Minnesota Society of CPAs and the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants. She is an active volunteer of the Andover Girls Hockey Booster Club and bookkeeper for Sartell Youth Hockey. She lives in Andover, Minnesota, with her husband, Mike, and son and daughter, and spends most weekends at their cabin in Crosby boating, fishing, mountain biking, and snowshoeing. In her free time, she enjoys doing various DIY home remodel projects with her husband and going for walks with her Bernedoodle, Kona. She grew up a few houses over from her husband in Waseca, Minnesota.

Personal Thoughts

I remember when I was a young CPA, over 20 years ago, working on a large estate. A client had passed away, and unfortunately, despite hiring a high-end attorney to draft his estate documents, his estate plan was disjointed and incomplete. While he had the foresight to work with an attorney, none of that work was shared with his financial planner or tax preparer. I remember thinking it was all a shame, as the resulting issues could have been prevented had we all worked together to execute his estate plan. Estate administration after a person passes away can be a stressful and burdensome process, all which is often handled by children who are grieving the loss of a parent. When there’s a poorly executed estate plan, it can be a nightmare and a costly one. Since then, I’ve seen it again and again and numerous families torn apart by it.

When I heard about CCM’s integrated wealth management approach, I was excited. I thought, “an approach to help guard against this from happening!” After joining CCM, I immediately saw the benefits of working for a company with a team of trusted advisors who collaborate with one another and other professionals to integrate financial, tax, and estate planning. This work can result in a well-executed plan and smooth estate administration for our clients and their heirs. I’m proud to be part of this team of trusted advisors.